The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to hire Milt Newton as general manager and bring in former Gophers star guard Bobby Jackson as an assistant coach for player development.

Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders has interviewed Newton and Jackson and is negotiating contracts with them.

"I worked with Milt in Washington (when Saunders coached the Wizards) and I know him from his working for USA Basketball," Saunders said Wednesday.

Newton is vice president of player personnel for the Wizards, for whom he has worked 10 years, and heads Washington's scouting department. Before joining the Wizards, Newton worked for the National Basketball Development League, which is a minor league.

Newton was a guard for coach Larry Brown at Kansas and became a scout for him when Brown coached the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jackson, 40, was a popular point guard for the University of Minnesota and spent two of his 11 NBA seasons with the Wolves (1998-2000). He was an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, for whom he played six seasons.

"I've always liked Bobby and kept in contact with him," said Saunders, who also was a star point guard for the Gophers. "I thought he did a good job (coaching) in Sacramento, and a lot of people told me he worked really well with players."

Jackson played five seasons for current Wolves coach Rick Adelman at Sacramento.

He is expected to turn down a community relations position with the Kings to join the Wolves.

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"He wants to stay in coaching," Saunders said.

Saunders will name Wolves assistant general manager Rob Babcock for an expanded role as VP of basketball operations.

Meanwhile, Saunders, who has streamlined the team's regional scouting, will have Milton Barnes, a former Gophers' assistant, back as a scout.

The Wolves' Kevin Love, in town setting up residence for the coming season, showed up at Target Center this week weighing 240 pounds.

"The lightest he's been since he's been a pro," Saunders said of the 6-foot-10 forward, who worked out at Target Center. "He's lost weight in his face, and his body looks leaner with muscle. He's really committed."

Love was about 250 pounds last season.

Wolves' point guard Ricky Rubio scored eight points with eight assists and three steals for Spain against France in an exhibition warm-up for the European championship.

Wolves' point guard J.J. Barea averaged 18.3 points and was MVP playing for Puerto Rico in the recent Tuto Marchand Continental Cup tournament.

Wolves' small forward Chase Budinger is in China putting on a week's worth of clinics.

Wolves' rookies will begin working out informally next week. Official team workouts begin on Oct. 1.

Nike, which has Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson under an apparel endorsement deal, makes molds of his feet for a perfect fit for his playing shoes, which are a new model this season.

"And they make the cleats so they fit exactly, too," he said.

Local consumers could end up spending about $7 million on tickets and concessions for Vikings, Gophers and Twins games on Thursday.

Running back Bradley Randle, released by the Vikings on Monday, played last season for Nevada-Las Vegas, which plays the Gophers on Thursday in Minneapolis.

It looks as though former Centennial High pitcher Austin Malinowski and pitcher Brandon Peterson from Savage will play for the Twins' Florida Instructional League club in Fort Myers this fall.

DON'T PRINT THAT

Pssst: The Pittsburgh Pirates remain interested in trading for Justin Morneau but want the Twins to pick up some of the first baseman's remaining salary, which is about $2.5 million. Deadline for playoff rosters is Saturday, and a Morneau deal could come down to the caliber of prospect the Pirates would be willing to give up.

A member of the University of Minnesota's board of regents, Dean Johnson, said this week that he fully expects the Vikings, under financial scrutiny for the team's new stadium, to fulfill their contract to play the 2014-15 seasons at TCF Bank Stadium.

The Vikings are to pay the University of Minnesota about $300,000 per game at the on-campus stadium -- with a maximum of $3 million per season.

The Vikings (9-7) will finish second in the NFC North behind the Packers (10-6), Sports Illustrated predicts, but ahead of the Bears (8-8) and Lions (6-10).

The best NBA prospect among Minnesota's top three high school players -- Tyus Jones of Apple Valley, Reid Travis of DeLaSalle and Rashad Vaughn, who is transferring from Robbinsdale Cooper to Findlay Prep in Las Vegas -- is probably Vaughn.

Timberwolves' president Flip Saunders will be tailgating at TCF Bank for alma mater Minnesota's football opener against Nevada-Las Vegas.

OVERHEARD

Gophers' safety Brock Vereen on his coach, Jerry Kill, on ESPN.com: "This guy has battled through cancer, epilepsy. He could have a seizure at any moment. Who am I to complain about being tired."